Keller’s Trout with Green Beans
This simple dish is wonderful. The beans are sweet from the butter, the fish’s skin is crisp and flesh tender and the brown butter sauce is lemony. I served them with Canary wrinkly potatoes (Papas Arrugadas) for a delicious summer dinner.
I read somewhere that the Keller’s secret to crisp fish skin is to scrape the skin with the blade of a knife. So I did - the silvery bits came off - and the fish skins were crispy and smoky. Beginner’s luck? I’m not sure. But I’m adding that technique to my repertoire.
The recipe is modified from Bouchon’s Trout with Haricot Verts and Almonds. I skipped the almond because I didn’t have them.
Ingredients:
Two rainbow trout, approx. 250 g each, cleaned
100 g green beans, ends removed
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
75 g butter
1 tbsp Italian parsley
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Directions:
Remove the fins on the fish. Scrape the fish skin with the blade of a knife to remove the silvery bits. Pat the fish dry with kitchen towels. Placing the fish on its back, cut open the fish - starting from the gill along each side of the spine - until it resembles a fillet.
Par boil the green beans in a pot of furiously boiling water. Refresh in an ice bath and set aside.
Lightly sprinkle both sides of the fish with salt and pepper. Heat a non-stick pan. Coat with a light film of olive oil. Add the trout skin-side down and sautee for 4-5 minutes. The fish may still look undercooked at the top but the hot ingredients that will top them will complete the cooking. DO NOT turn the cooked fish to colour the flesh-side. (If you insist on colouring the flesh, when the oil is hot, place the fish flesh-side down to sear for about 5-10 seconds. Quickly turn the fish, using your hands as the fish is still touchable and firm, and sautee, skin-side down for the suggested 4-5 minutes).
Meanwhile, put the cooked beans in another pan, add 1 tbsp of butter and 1/6 cup of water, and place over medium heat. Heat, shaking the pan occasionally to release the steam, until the water has evaporated and the beans are hot and glazed with butter. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the beans and keep warm.
When the fish are done, place the fish on a serving plate. Drain the oil from the pan and return the pan to the heat. Add the remaining butter and a pinch of salt into the hot pan. When the butter is golden brown, add the parsley and lemon juice.
Cover each trout with half of the beans. Spoon the foaming butter over the beans and around the plates.
